8/20/19 – Since Gina posted her Happy Anniversary to 4 Paws 1 Heart, many of our friends have been posting updates of the animals we were able to give a second chance at life. You can read most of their stories on our website: 4paws1heart.org or check out the ‘Notes’ on this fb page.

Here is Sweet Pea’s story from 2012:

7/6/12 The Eastpointe Animal Control Officer (ACO) was contacted by a groomer in Eastpointe reporting a case of serious neglect/abuse. He had a Pomeranian mix, male, neutered, 10 lbs. and about 7 years old. The dog was matted with feces with flies stuck to it and totally consumed with hundreds of maggots who had actually at holes in his poor little body; his nails were 1 and 1/2 inches overgrown. The ACO immediately took the animal to the East Detroit Animal Hospital who kindly stepped up to the plate without an advanced payment. There the maggots were removed and the dog was shaved but the dog still required additional veterinary care. The ACO contacted the owner to advise of the dire condition of the dog and to tell her that the dog needed additional medical treatment. She claimed that she had been in the hospital with a heart condition and her dog, Sweetpea, had been in the care of a friend. She also said that she didn’t have the money to take him to a vet or to pay the vet the ACO had taken him to for initial treatment. The ACO contacted Gina and asked if 4P1H could help. Gina told him that if the woman could produce proof that she was, in fact, in the hospital and proof of who had been caring for the dog, that 4P1H would help with the medical bills (although that is not typically what 4P1H does). The woman could not provide proof and obviously had been lying; it further appeared that the dog had just been neglected and kept in a crate. The woman wanted the dog back but the ACO miraculously talked the woman into surrendering the dog and brought the dog, after hours on his own time, to the Animal Urgent and Critical Care Center. At the Center, Sweetpea was further treated for his infestations, stabilized, and put on IV fluids. He is totally traumatized by what he has been forced to go through. Charges cannot be pressed in Eastpointe because it turns out that the woman is a Detroit resident. If the City of Eastpointe does not pay the vet bill at the East Detroit Animal Hospital, 4P1H will pay that bill as well as the costs for the medical treatment and Sweetpea’s stay at the Critical Care Center. He should be ready for adoption in about a week.